The Province of Abra is now known as the ""Natural Dye Capital of the Philippines"" because it is blessed with abundant natural dye-yielding plants.

Abra is an inland province bounded by Ilocos Norte and Mountain Province on the north, Ilocos Sur on the south, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur on the west, and Mountain Province, Kalinga, and Apayao on the east.

Abra had a population of 195,964 as of May 1996, or 16.33% of the Cordillera Administrative Region's total population.

MALIBCONG, Abra -- A quiet economic revolution, which relies not on the barrels of guns, is sweeping Cordillera's hinterlands such as this upland hometown of two famous rebels.

A seven-hour rough road drive from Abra's provincial capital of Bangued, this remotest hinterland town of Abra is the birthplace of the late rebel priest Conrado Balweg and his ideological enemy and younger brother, Jovencio of the New People's Army, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

To cross the bridgeless Abra River, vehicles are transported on steel rafts.

Abra is a landlocked province located on western side of the Cordillera Region.

Created as a Politico-Militar Province in 1846 during the Spanish Rule, Abra was integrated to the Province of Ilocos Sur on February 1905.

Abra is blessed with abundant natural dye yielding plants making it the "Natural Dye Capital of the Philippines." Natural dyes, extracted from plants, are used in food coloring, beverages, textiles, furniture and pharmaceutical products.

Intense militarization is ongoing and human rights violations are mounting in minerals-rich Abra indicating, so say cause-oriented groups and rights watchdogs, that military operations are linked to the anticipated large-scale mining in the region.

Baguio city – Forest- and mineral-rich Abraprovince in northern Philippines is attracting mining exploration investors today, a few months after the Supreme Court reversed its own ruling on the unconstitutionality of the Mining Act of 1995.

IB insists that the incidents were part of the military’s clearing operations, the real intent of their actions is to sow terror among the Abra folk and disrupt the preparations of the upcoming Cordillera Day,” Bolinget added.

MALIBCONG, Abra (April 25) — Over 6,000 delegates gathered in mountain-cradled Buanao village here from April 23 to 24 for the 21st Cordillera Day commemoration, the gathering being one of the most well-attended since the first celebration in 1985.

Buanao lies in the Bangilo District of Malibcong town and is inhabited by the Gubang tribe whose ancestors originate from Kalinga province’s Igubang warrior tribe.

In a statement, the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) said that Abraprovince was chosen for this year’s Cordillera Day to pay homage to the resistance of the Abra indigenous peoples against the logging concessionaire Cellophil Resources Corporation (CRC) during the late 70s and the Cordillera martyrs who defended the homeland, added Joan Carling, CPA chair.

This was disclosed, just as Molina said that he is starting to become impatient over the alleged inaction of the Abra Provincial Police Office and the military to arrest 10 CPLA members, who reportedly admitted to these killings but who were also monitored to be roaming freely in the province.

Molina said he has ordered all CPLA zone commanders in Abra, including those in Kalinga, Mt. Province and Apayao, to be cautious and always ensure the safety of their men.

The CPLA was founded in 1986 when Molina and Balweg severed ties with the mainstream CPP-NPA and forged a peace pact with the administration of former President Corazon Aquino at Mt. Data in 1987.

Abra's name comes from the well-known term used in magic, "abracadabra." Its Japanese name, Kēshī, is a reference to mentalist and "sleeping prophet" Edgar Cayce.

Abra can be caught in the wild in all Pokémon versions - but due to its only attack being Teleport, which ends the battle, it is harder to catch than most other wild pokémon.

Abra likes to sleep for eighteen hours a day - any less, and it will lose its telekinetic ability.

www.artistbooking.com /trips/0/abra-suite.html (428 words)

PIA News Releases(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-01)

Abra Provincial Science and Technology Officer Menandro B. Buenafe said the micro-hydro power system would cater the off-grid barangays of Cubcuba, Lat-ey and Alligang within the Bagnilo District Peace Zone in Malibcong, Abra.

The said micro-hydro project in the Bagnilo Peace Zone area is a collaborative project of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the provincial government of Abra and the Diocese of Bangued.

Actually, the major civil works and mechanical works have already been installed like the intake, the diversion canal, the forebay, the penstock, the turbine and generator with their monitoring and protective devises, transmission lines, household wirings, and power house.

It underscored the worsening human rights violations against indigenous peoples as a consequence of intensified militarization and massive military operations in the Cordillera meant to suppress the growing community protests against destructive projects and the advancement of indigenous peoples movement in the Cordillera.

The Chairperson of the host organization TADEK (Takderan Aywanan Daga, Ekolohiya, Kultura), Buanao Barangay Captain and the Mayor of Malibcong warmly welcomed the delegates with their messages and sharing of their historic struggles.

This year’s celebration drew lessons from their heroic resistance against the depredations of a logging company Cellophil Resources Corporation during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, and their continuing unity for the defense of their ancestral territory in the face of continued militarization, historic government neglect, and marginalized condition.

On March 26, 2005, five men were on their way to hunt in Lan-ag, Lacub, Abra when they were arbitrarily arrested and detained by elements of the 41st IB under the command of 2Lt.

It will be recalled that elements of the 41st IBPA were responsible for the murder of Bernabe Banguey of Sallapadan, Abra sometime in July 2004, as well as indiscriminate firing and military terrorism against indigenous communities in Sallapadan.

The massive military operation in Abra is meant to intimidate and sow terror among the communities protesting the entry of transnational mining companies and destructive mining in their ancestral territories as well as the worsening human rights situation in the province.

Implementation of Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization or AFMA (DA) [ok —2t] Accomplishment: For CY 2001, P65.76 million was allocated for CAR, of which P60.50 million has been utilized for the GMA rice and corn, high value crops, and livestock programs under AFMA.

Today, the people of the Province of Abra, most especially the residents of the Municipality of Tineg, will be commemorating the First Death Anniversary of the late Mayor Clarence Benwaren.

The murderers did not only take a life and deprived his wife, family and the residents of Tineg, Abra of a loving husband, father and leader but have shown their gross disrespect to a house of faith indicative of their desire to perpetuate themselves in power at all costs.

This is being perceived by many as a convenient distraction from what the police should be concentrating which is the immediate resolution of the Benwaren Murder, and timely done to show false control since the DILG Secretary was coincidentally visiting the Municipality of San Juan, Abra.

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ABS-CBN Interactive(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-01)

NPA member Angelito "Ka Jobal, or Ka Angay" Languicao surrendered to the police authorities, led by Senior Superintendent Marcelo Manalo, Abra PNP director, on October 6.

Mayor Mario Baawa of Malibcong, Abra, also a former ranking NPA member before joining politics, reportedly facilitated the surrender.

Before his surrender, Laguicao was listed number 27 under the militaryâs order of battle watchlist for NPA member in Abra, the police added.

Manuel A. Mariano Jr., commander of the 503rd Infantry Brigade, said that in Abra, NPA leaders belonging to the Abra provincial committee are now extorting money from politicians, contractors, businessmen, and balikbayans to enable them and their members to survive.

Vicente Basilan, unit commander of the AFP-CRS office here, said that for this year alone, the communist received undetermined amount of money from the mayor of Malibcong, Abra, and the punong barangay of Poblacion, Lacob, Abra, and the sum was remitted to Jovencio Balweg, secretary of the Abra provincial committee.

Basilan said that reports also stated that the extortion is being done on a quarterly basis, and the collections are being used by ranking cadres of the provincial committee for their personal needs and those of their families.

Monta claimed that Bedaña, 53, was among the NPA leaders who ordered Juvencio Balweg, a top leader of the NPA operating in Abraprovince, to kill his brother, former rebel priest Conrado Balweg, in Malibcong town, Abra, in 1999.